Overdecorated

For last year's invasion of Grenada, by any measure a quick and
efficient operation, the U.S. Army last week disclosed it had awarded
8,612 medals. What made the back-patting noteworthy was that no more
than about 7,000 officers and enlisted men ever set foot on the tiny
Caribbean island.

Those members of the 82nd Airborne Division who parachuted from
helicopters as Grenadian soldiers fired at them from the ground were,
quite rightly, granted medals. But so were a number of chairbound
bureaucrats who got no closer to the fighting than an office in the
Pentagon. While there were...